Lake Nakuru is one of a
string of shallow soda lakes that litter the floor of the Rift Valley. Its algae-soaked waters attract thousands of pink flamingos and
pelicans. The tiny 188 sq km Lake Nakuru National Park is 156km northwest
of Nairobi. It was created in 1968 to protect the flocks of flamingos
and other species in the hills and plains around the lake.
These include a very healthy population of black and white rhino.
Nakuru was declared a sanctuary for the protection of these endangered
animals in 1987 - you’ll literally trip over rhino in Nakuru.
It’s also rather well-off for leopard. These are is often, and unusually,
spotted during daylight hours in the acacia forest at the very entrance
to the park. There are also several prides of lion, black and white
colobus monkeys, hippo, numerous antelope, buffalo and the rare Rothschild's
giraffe. Game viewing is very easy and rewarding, and the whole park
can be driven around in half a day.
The lake itself is in the centre of the park and is surrounded by huge white
salt crusts, whose surface area varies from 5 to 40 sq km. The number
of flamingos varies from several thousand to a few hundred, depending
on the level of the water and their frequent migration between the
other lakes in the Rift Valley. The eastern and western shores are
bounded by high ridges where there are picnic spots and lookouts with
fabulous names - Lion Hill, Baboon Cliff and Out of Africa.
The park lies only 4km from the town of Nakuru, the fourth largest
in Kenya and a thriving local centre with a bustling market. It's
a great place to buy curios and locally grown Kenyan coffee beans.
Because of its proximity to the town, the park is fenced to
stop the animals wandering into town, and at one time to stop poachers
wandering into the park. It’s so close to the town that it’s
not out of the ordinary to be watching a lion within the park and
at the same time watching a woman doing her washing outside her house
beyond the fence! The advantage of being so close is that the local
people can get to know the wildlife. The park owns a bus and brings
in all the local school children for game drives. The park's tracks
are well maintained, though they get a little muddy in the rain, and the
climate is good for game watching all year round.
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